THE GRAVESTONE CARVING TRADITIONS
OF PLYMOUTH AND CAPE COD
abstract
This study examines the work of a number of early American gravestone carvers resident in Plymouth, Massachusetts and on Cape Cod, four of whom were previously unidentified.
NOTE: All this material was expanded and include in From Slate to Marble, below. An analysis of the (near) complete output of the following five carvers is provided:
Lemuel Savery (1757-c1796): 271 stones, mostly in Plymouth.
the "Narrow-Nose" Carver*: ( ? - ? ): 31 stones, from Quincy and Brockton to Cape Cod.
the "Goggle-Eye" Carver*: ( ? - ? ): 15 stones, mostly in Sandwich on Cape Cod.
Amaziah Harlow, Jr. (1747-1802): 77 stones, mostly in Plymouth.
Nathaniel Holmes (1783-1869): 1337 stones, mostly around Barnstable, on Cape Cod.
Additional discussion of the following six carvers is included, but without a complete survey of their work:
William Coye (1750- ? ) (also referred to as the "Lemon-Eye craver" in this study): possibly 16
stones in Plymouth.
John Tribbel (1782-1862): 35 stones (an incomplete sample), mostly in Plymouth.
William W. Sturgis (c1800- ? ): 34 stones (an incomplete sample), mostly on western Cape Cod.
Jabez M. Fisher (1803-1879): 76 stones (an incomplete sample), around Yarmouth, on Cape Cod.
William S. Fisher (1830-1906): [included in father Jabez's total, above]
This study includes what is known of the carvers' biographies, analyses of their evolving styles, and sixty photos of representative gravestones. Appendices list all identified stones and their locations, surveyed burial grounds, and probate records in which the carvers are listed as paid for various stones (thirteen Cape carvers other than those mentioned above are included).
*so named by the author
see website for the Association for Gravestone Studies (AGS), which lists publications on gravestone studies, including contents for all issues of Markers. [http://www.berkshire.net/ags/]
"Gravestone Carving Traditions of Plymouth and Cape
Cod"